Live Dungeon!

”Oh, Miss Ollie, I’m full.”

”Huh?”

Tsutomu blinked in surprise when Korinna stood up from the table at the same time as he did. Even Ollie, who had been about to rise and prepare another round of food as usual, paused with an unexpected look before watching Korinna head upstairs.

”…She loses her appetite when she’s feeling down, huh? I guess that’s… more normal,” Tsutomu mused aloud.

”Hmm?”

Daryl, chewing on a mouthful of steak while carefully following the table manners Xeno had drilled into him, turned to Tsutomu with a puzzled expression. Meanwhile, Amira, who had been watching Korinna leave, clicked her tongue in irritation.

”Still acting like it was all her fault,” she grumbled. ”No matter how many times I tell her, she just won’t listen.”

”You said something to her?” Tsutomu asked.

”Yeah. She kept blaming herself for not being the first to clear the Crab fight, so I told her that wasn’t the case. But she won’t drop it.” Amira leaned forward suddenly. ”Actually, I gotta ask your opinion — Korinna or that fox girl, who’s the better Healer?”

Tsutomu cracked a half-smirk at the mention of ‘that fox girl’ – she totally was referring to Eunice.

”Korinna, without a doubt. The Dumpling [ is cool and all, but didn’t seem to do much against the mutated Shell Crab, and in terms of raw ability, Korinna’s leagues ahead.”

”Right!? I knew it! Even I could tell she’s way better. So if there was a problem, it had to be me.”

”Oh? So you actually think you were at fault?”

”…Not just me,” Amira muttered, crossing her arms and looking away. ”Everyone else’s got their issues too.”

Tsutomu leaned back in his chair, looking vaguely impressed. Amira scowled, dissatisfied with his reaction. Amy let out a weary sigh at the all-too-familiar sight, while Leleia remained impassive, her expression unreadable.

”A downgrade of the Guild Master really has no room to talk,” Leleia remarked coolly. ”Besides, from what I saw, you lost control of your [ again. And yet you dare say others had issues?”

”Oh yeah?” Amira shot back. ”Like you weren’t running out of energy and getting yourself killed. Any random Spiritualist off the street would’ve done a better job.”

”That was because Hannah recklessly burned through the Sylph’s Spirit Magic without thinking. After that, I never ran out of energy again. But you? You kept losing control, and Korinna had to keep you in check. You’re the one who hasn’t changed at all.”

”All right, that’s enough!” Amy interjected before the argument could escalate further. ”We’ve been over this already! No need to dig it all up again.”

Hannah, sitting nearby, merely shook her head and cracked open a walnut-like nut with a tool, completely unfazed. At first, Amira and Leleia’s arguments used to make her nervous, but after seeing them bicker so many times, she now found it routine enough to snack through.

Tsutomu sighed and stood up. ”I’ll go check on Korinna.”

”Be nice to her, yeah?” Hannah said with a smirk.

”Yeah, sure, I’ll talk to her like a sane person. Surely she’ll understand – it’s not like I’m going to handle it the way you would, anyway.”

Hannah did not respond — just snapped another nut open with unnecessary force. Taking that as his cue to leave, Tsutomu quickly made his way upstairs. The murmur of the Clan’s members downstairs faded behind him as he knocked on Korinna’s door.

”Yes?”

”Hey, I wanted to talk about the mutant Shell Crab. You have a moment?”

”…Is it just you?”

”Yeah, just me.”

”…All right, come in.”

As he stepped inside, a fresh, citrusy scent filled the air. The curtains were drawn shut, and a small fragrance diffuser sat by the window. Korinna was already in her nightwear, lying on her bed – it seemed she had been in the middle of some aromatherapy. ＲÃ₦𝙤ᛒЕṧ

”I was thinking we could talk somewhere else, so if you don’t mind–”

”Actually, I do mind. Could we stay here?” she asked. ”…This stuff isn’t exactly cheap.”

”Ah, got it. My bad.” Tsutomu quickly shut the door, not wanting to let the scent escape. He hadn’t the faintest clue about aromatherapy, but if she was that particular about it, he respected it.

Glancing around, he realized he would never really take a close look at Korinna’s room before. It was neat and well-kept — quintessentially feminine. A stark contrast to Amira’s room, which always turned into a disaster zone the moment Ollie stopped cleaning it.

Feeling somewhat out of place, Tsutomu settled onto a cushion on the floor, automatically sitting in a formal kneeling posture. Korinna, meanwhile, got up from her bed and sat across from him. She was not fidgeting nervously like usual, nor did she seem particularly lively. As Tsutomu considered how to start the conversation, Korinna spoke first.

”…Our party is kind of amazing, don’t you think?”

”Huh?”

Tsutomu blinked, caught off guard by the sudden self-praise. Korinna quickly waved her hands as if to take it back.

”No, I mean — uh, how do I put this?”

”Doesn’t seem like you’re that upset about not being the first to defeat the mutated Shell Crab,” Tsutomu observed.

”Oh, right. Well… considering who we lost to, I guess that was inevitable, wasn’t it?”

”Yeah, fair enough. When I told you guys to aim for first place, it was when we thought our competition would be Ealdred Crow. But then the Dream Team showed up out of nowhere — I don’t think you could’ve done much differently.”

”Exactly! I’m glad you see it that way.” Korinna let out a small sigh, as if she had been bracing herself for a scolding. ”Honestly, I never imagined we’d be able to go toe-to-toe with a party like that. I knew Amy and the others were strong, but I didn’t expect us to put up such a good fight against people with unique skills. And I thought Eunice would completely outclass me as a Healer, but… it wasn’t as bad as I feared. I’m sure you still see plenty of areas where I fall short, but the gap wasn’t as overwhelming as I thought it would be.”

Although Eunice had been making waves with her signature Dumpling [, Korinna couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t far behind. Watching the broadcasts on the Monitors, she had genuinely believed she could match her.

They might have lost the race to take down the mutated Shell Crab, but securing the kill just two days later had been a satisfying result. More than anything, the experience had given her newfound confidence — despite being a Channeler, she had held her own against a White Mage like Eunice. She could stand her ground as a Healer.

”Of course, losing to that party was frustrating,” Korinna admitted, her voice hesitant. ”But… not as much as it was for Amy and the others. Honestly, I felt relieved more than anything.” She averted her gaze. ”But since everyone except Hannah was so upset, I didn’t feel like I could say that out loud…”

”So that’s why you stopped eating earlier?”

Before she could answer, a loud growl echoed through the room. Korinna clutched her stomach, her face burning red.

So she had not been too upset to eat. She had just been acting. Trying to look as downcast as everyone else. Tsutomu let out a small, exasperated smile at the unexpected confession.

”…Well, Listen, Korinna — Amira’s been really worried about you and that doesn’t usually happen, you know?” he pointed out.

Korinna winced. ”Y-Yeah, I figured. Even during the review meeting, every time I said something, she kept jumping in to defend me. Meanwhile, I was secretly feeling pretty satisfied with our run, but… I just couldn’t bring myself to say it.”

Tsutomu could only shake his head at the image of a restless, overprotective Amira. Korinna, looking more flustered than remorseful, fidgeted where she sat.

”You should’ve just said it,” he told her. ”It’s fine to feel proud that you held your own against the Dream Team. Sure, Amira might get mad, but it’s not like she’d stay angry at you.”

Korinna grimaced. ”That’s the thing – that’s her mother’s party that beat us to the first kill. Amira was so upset it made me feel bad just watching her. I couldn’t exactly just brush it off like it was nothing.”

”That’s… fair enough,” Tsutomu conceded. ”But still, I’m glad to see you’ve gained some confidence. You held your own better than you expected, right?”

Korinna nodded. ”…Actually, um. About Eunice…” she hesitated, as if debating whether to say something. ”I mean, she wasn’t… doing so good, was she?”

Tsutomu chuckled. ”Yeah. She focused so much on developing the Dumpling [ that her fundamentals got a little rusty. But even so, she’s still a high-level White Mage. Definitely above average… Which means you, at the very least, are also better than the average White Mage.”

Korinna blinked, then clasped her hands together, as if sealing in the realization. ”Thank you. That… that really means a lot. I really have improved, haven’t I?”

She smiled, almost shyly, but Tsutomu narrowed his eyes slightly in warning.

”Uh, well… just don’t get complacent,” he said. ”Being better than Eunice isn’t your goal, is it? And you’ve gone over the Shell Crab fight already, but make sure you use those lessons next time.”

”Of course. This fight really showed me how harsh the front lines can be. Trying to strategize from scratch in a situation like that… it’s not easy.” Korinna furrowed her brows, recalling the battle. ”We went over it in the review meeting, but I think our biggest problem was the lack of clear leadership. Maybe it was because Amy’s mind got clouded by her [, but if we’d been able to make decisions as a team more effectively, we might have actually won.”

Tsutomu nodded. ”Sounds like you’ve got a solid grasp of what went wrong. Remember what I said earlier — after we clear the ninetieth layer, I’ll leave the hundredth’s team lineups to you. Keep that in mind and be ready for it.”

”Yes!” Korinna straightened, her expression determined.

Tsutomu stretched, standing up. ”Oh, and one more thing – go tell Amira how you really feel. She’s been worrying over nothing, and honestly, I feel kind of bad for her.”

Korinna winced again. ”…Yeah, I probably should.”

The two heaved a sigh, both picturing a brooding Amira downstairs, before they ended their conversation with a little chuckle.